They Thought I Was Just Her Husband

CHAPTER 10

That evening, Jason Cavill came to see Theo at his hotel room once again.

Theo opened the door and got straight to the point, his voice laced with a cold impatience. "Tracey should've come to her senses by now. She's not still refusing to let this go, is she?"

Jason let out a long, heavy sigh, stepping into the room. "Theo, to be completely honest with you, Tracey really loves you and she genuinely can't bear to divorce you."

Theo frowned, his eyes narrowing. "What exactly are you trying to say? And what is Tracey trying to do?"

Jason sat on the edge of the desk, explaining smoothly that if this private matter became public, it would have a catastrophic impact on Tracey's career as a top-tier actress. For the sake of avoiding that kind of devastating negative publicity, he hoped Theo wouldn't make a big scene out of it and would simply agree to maintain the marriage for the public eye.

 "You have to understand the situation she is in, Theo," he adds, "she can't let go, and you should consider that."

Theo almost exploded where he stood, a surge of white-hot rage rushing to his head.

So for the sake of her career, I'm supposed to quietly shut my mouth and put up with being a cuckold?!

Tracey, what the hell were you thinking? How could you even make such a shameless, delusional demand?

Theo clenched his jaws and fists, just about to curse Jason out when the manager's expression suddenly shifted, the polished warmth evaporating into a cold, calculated stare.

Jason reached into his coat and pulled out a printed copy of Theo's official employment record from Oakridge General.

"Theo, look at the reality here," Jason said, his voice dropping into a measured threat. "You're still just an ordinary attending physician, aren't you? If you actually go through with divorcing Tracey, you need to think very carefully about your career trajectory, as well as the astronomical child support you'll have to pay in the future..."

He blinked, confused, "What child support?" Theo snapped.

"You and Tracey still have a minor child in the household," Jason countered calmly. "After the divorce, Tracey obviously won't give up custody, and no court in this state would grant it to a mid-level doctor over a woman of her status, you know that. If Tracey raises Hope, then as her legal father, you'll still be required to contribute to their lifestyle expenses."

Jason paused, emphasizing each syllable: "Considering the Teague family's standard of living, you could easily end up paying ten or twenty thousand dollars a month in court-ordered support. How long can your hospital salary cover that?"

"Jason," Theo interrupted, his voice dropping to a dangerously quiet tone. "Whatever happens between Tracey and me is a marital dispute between husband and wife. You're an outsider who doesn't know a damn thing about the truth, so there's no need for you to get involved."

He stepped up, staring Jason dead in the eye.

"If you're speaking to me as a private individual, then I have zero obligation to explain anything to you. And if you're standing here as Tracey's legal representative, then you're representing the defendant while I am the plaintiff. We shouldn't even be meeting privately like this."

Theo could hear the blatant intimidation hidden in Jason's words. To him, it was complete, unadulterated bullshit.

"Get out of my room, Jason," Theo said coldly, pointing toward the door.

Jason didn't argue. He simply walked over and held the door open. Standing right outside in the hallway were four large, broad-shouldered men in dark suits, they were the hotel security guards.

Without giving Theo a single inch of room to argue, the guards stepped directly into the room, the biggest one standing at the forefront.

"You need to check out of this room, sir. You cannot stay here any longer." He said to Theo.

Theo's expression darkened with rage and utter disbelief as he turned back to Jason. "This is your doing? Yours and Tracey's?"

Jason looked mildly uncomfortable, adjusting his glasses. "Theo, Tracey's one of the hottest actresses in the country right now. She knows the owners of practically every decent hotel chain in this city. Some of them even have major business partnerships with her agency."

Jason paused, softening his tone with fake sympathy. "So if she asks them for a quick favor, they'll give it to her without question. Once I let them know your name, you won't be able to book a room at any reputable place in town. You might as well come home with me. Your own house is much more comfortable. There's no need to stay out here and make yourself suffer like a stray dog."

  "You can't win this, Theo."

Theo let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "Tracey may have money, Jason, but she doesn't own the whole damn city."

Without another word, Theo packed his bag, grabbed his keys, and walked out.

He spent the next two hours driving across Oakridge, trying several high-end and mid-tier hotels. Sure enough, the moment the front desk clerks typed his name into the system, their expressions shifted, and they politely refused to give him a room, each saying it was "sudden maintenance issues" or "full capacity."

Yeah right.

Theo cursed Tracey repeatedly in his heart as the night dragged on, until he finally managed to find a run-down, off-brand motel on the outskirts of the district that didn't ask questions.

***

At the start of the new week, Theo woke up early, dressed in a sharp suit, and went straight to the county courthouse. She had pushed him to his final straw and now, there was no going back.

He submitted the formal complaint along with the notarized paternity test reports, official evidence folders, and required documentation, formally initiating divorce proceedings against Tracey Teague Hanks.

It didn't take long for the process server to deliver the legal summons directly to Tracey's estate.

When Tracey opened the court filing and reached the financial petition section, her breath hitched, and her jaw nearly dropped in absolute shock.

"What?!" she gasped, clutching the legal papers so hard they crumpled in her hand.

"Theo is demanding three billion dollars in compensation from me?!"